McNulty, 18, took the rainbow jersey at the UCI Road World Championships in Qatar last month with a time that would have earned the Arizona resident a bronze medal in the U23 race. In two years with the USA Cycling junior national team, McNulty built an impressive international palmarés that includes third place at the 2015 junior time trial world championship in Richmond.

In 2015, McNulty won the four-day Course de la Paix in the Czech Republic ahead of teammate Adrien Costa after taking the lead with a time trial victory. He won the individual time trial at Driedaagse van Axel and was second behind Costa in the overall at the Tour l’Abitibi after winning the opening stage and the time trial. This year he won time trial stages in Pays de Vaud and Trofeo Karlsberg, where he also won the overall. He increased his result one spot at l’Abitibi in 2016, taking the overall victory in the Canadian Nations Cup race.

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Domestically, McNulty won two national individual time trial titles in 2015 and 2016, and he was part of the squad that won a team time trial national title with the LUX Development Team. Racing the national calendar with the Lux-Stradling U19 team, McNulty won the individual time trial stage at the Chico Stage Race in February ahead of Rally’s Evan Huffman, leading the general classification until the final day. McNulty finished second overall at the San Dimas Stage Race behind Jamis’ Colombian climber Janier Acevedo and added several criterium wins throughout the season.

McNulty said in a statement released by the team on Thursday that learning opportunities led him to sign with Rally.

“One thing Rally Cycling has to offer that strictly U23 teams don’t is the opportunity to race with and learn from guys who have been professionals for a long time,” he said. “They have a tremendous amount of experience and it is a great opportunity to learn from some of the best riders in the peloton.”